Lewis and Clark Learns

So much has happened at Lewis and Clark since the end of May.  The library received a grant from the Liberty School District Foundation in the amount of nearly $8,000.00 to be spent on creating a MakerSpace.  Since being awarded that grant, my brain has not shut off.  I have been busy planning for great experiences, purchasing materials, and getting donations for our MakerSpace! I knew that we needed a MakerSpace when I didn't have the resources my students needed and wanted during Genius Hour.   Our MakerSpace will be located in the reading resource room in the library.  It will be very easy to access everything we need when we need it!  This is what the room has looked like at various stages during the summer months.  Mrs. Carey and I relocated all the books in the picture below and our fabulous custodial staff has cleared out everything else.   I was fortunate to find 3 shelves hanging around storage closets that will now...

So, I nonchalantly told a good friend that I was beginning to collect boxes for the 2014-2015 school year for a number of activities and events.  As you can see from the photo below she came through BIG TIME!  LC makers, we are set for this year's Cardboard Challenge, our Not A Box event,  and Family Maker Evenings.  I think it is safe to say we will have enough boxes for anything you may want to create this year.  Thank you so much Sheila Cogley for helping LC kids develop, practice, and share their creativity! It truly takes a village!

I am so thrilled to announce that the LSDF awarded the Lewis and Clark Library Media Center an Excellence in Education Grant in the amount of   $7, 849.00 to fund the new MakerStudio in our library. Dr. Palmer, Mrs.Lawson, Mrs. Haynes and I are really excited to bring this amazing space to our library and our kids. I have been working for months (reading, learning, planning, making lists, visiting other MakerSpaces) on this endeavor and was so excited to have the check presented to me last night...June 17th.  I THOUGHT I was going to defend my grant proposal and answer additional questions the committee might have.  I was asked to speak before the group and briefly outline the grant, my goals, my justification, who it would impact, and the timeline for implementation.  I was VERY nervous because I really wanted to bring this space to Lewis and Clark.  When I was finished presenting, they awarded me the check right then and there!  I had no idea the dec...

A big thank you to Mr. Forsman and his SVMS students for building a LFL for Lewis and Clark. (Thanks Mrs. Kliewer for mentioning my interest in a LFL to Mr. Forsman)  This is just the first of a few libraries we will be working on with Mr. Forsman.  We will be designing and painting this LFL and gifting it to a Lewis and Clark neighborhood.  During the 2014-2015 school year, my students will have the opportunity to design, collaborate, and partner up with Mr. Forsman's students so they can build two more LFL for Lewis and Clark. 

When our LC readers come back to school in August, they will notice a significant change in the Fiction section...Mrs. Haynes and I worked the first two days of summer break organizing it by genre!  We had been thinking about doing this for a while based on our students' library surveys, student feedback, and articles I had read.  We had already talked and planned out the genres we would use.  As we worked, we talked about signage, how to label our books so our library volunteers could continue to shelve, and book placement on the shelves for natural stops and starts for each genre.      It was quite a job and did not go as we had planned.  When we started this endeavor, we had planned to just start with 1 or 2 genres and see how it would work for kids next fall.  We soon realized that would not be the best use of our time and efforts. So, we labeled our tables for sorting and went for it.  We soon realized that this was also...

My students and I just completed our first of year of implementing Genius Hour. (I am so glad my colleagues shared Genius Hour with me!)  With it, came failure to learn from and much success to celebrate!  As we closed out the school year, I asked my students to complete a quick questionnaire to help me gain some insight into their thoughts on Genius Hour.  I have looked over the results several times in the last couple of weeks to jot down some notes, make some decisions, and ultimately make next year's learning experience even better.  No names required...just grade levels. This is what I learned... What my students liked most about Genius Hour: Sharing their learning  The Global Cardboard Challenge  Freedom to make choices  Learning from other students' projects  Asking and answering their own questions  They were inspired to be fearless  Working independently  Working in partners or groups  Opportun...

Have you ever wondered how to survive in a desert? Well this is how...first, keep cool.  Second, get and  keep water.  If you want to learn more read the book,  Surviving Death Valley:Desert Adaptation. By:Kegan